Introversion syringe



G. N. HEIN INTROVERSION SYRINGE July 11, 1950 Filed Feb. 17, 1945 INVENTOR WKM Patented July 11, 1 950 INTROVERSION SYRINGE George N. Hein, San Carlos, Calif.; Howard T. Hein and George N. Hein, Jr., executors of said George N. Hein, deceased Application February 17, 1945, Serial No. 578,398

This invention relates to improvement in syringes and containers for use therewith, and more particularly relates to invagination, intussusception or introversion syringes and containers which for purposes of this application may be defined as a syringe of the type which includes a hollow container, havin its wall material suitable for introversion inwardly upon itself longitudinally of the longitudinal axis of the container. Such containers may be made of any suitable pliable material, examples of which are hereinafter set forth.

Among the objects of the invention are to provide a syringe and a container for use therewith whereby the contents of the container may be ejected by extrusion responsive to introversion of the container upon itself. Another object is to provide a syringe and a container for use therewith wherein the discharge end of the container may automatically close upon release of pressure upon the opposite end of the syringe or upon removal of a perforating dispensing needle, if the latter is employed. A further object is to provide a container for use in dispensing extrudable fiuids, semi-fluids, emulsions, pastes, and the like, and particularly for employment in syringes.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention includes the devices and parts more particularly described in the following specifications and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, it being understood that changes may be made in form, dimension and minor details of construction without sacrificing any of the advantages of, nor departing from the spirit, of the invention as set forth in the claims appended hereto.

In the accompanying drawing which is illustrative of one form in which the invention may be embodied:

Fig. 1 is longitudinal section of syringe body and container, which illustrates in broken lines an operative position of parts.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal view of the container body of Fig. 1, partly broken away and sectioned.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary longitudinal section of a, portion of syringe body similar to Fig. 1 and modified form of container.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view in section of a modified form of syringe body and container.

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal section view of a cannula and internally threaded holder, for use with structure of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is longitudinal section, partly in full line, of modified form of the invention.

8 Claims. (Cl. 128-215) Fig. '7 is a fragmentary longitudinal section view of a modification of the invention.

Fig. 8 is a longitudinal sectional view of a modified form of container.

In the drawing which is hereby referred to as a part of this specification, like reference characters indicate functionally corresponding parts in the several views insofar as practicable.

In Fig. 1, a syringe body generally indicated l 0 is provided with an elongated cylindrical barrel V II circular in transverse section and open at its top or filling end l2 and having its opposite discharge end flanged inwardly at l3 providing an internal recess I4 and also providing a base for an extended end nipple l5 which is externally threaded as at IS. The nipple l5 has an opening I! therethrough communicating with the recess I 4, the opening ll being adapted for receiving therethrough an end portion of a cannula l8 which is held in mounted relation on the nipple I5 by a suitable threaded cannula holder or nut I9.

The filling end l2 of the syringe body is closed by any suitable plug 20 which has an opening 2| centrally therethrough to receive and guide a piston 22 which is circular in transverse section. One end of the piston has a thumb pressure cap 23 and the opposite end, or plunger end is rounded as at 24. The piston 22 may have calibrations 25 which are desirable if the syringe barrel is of glass. Many modifications of specific syringe body structures may be employed according to the type of container to be employed therein, several modifications being illustrated in the several view herein. However, it is preferable that the rounded plunger end 24 of the piston 22 be present regardless of the other details of syringe structure, and also that the outer diameter of the piston and the inner diameter of the confining wall of the barrel H shall be such that the space therebetween, and especially at the plunger end portion of the piston, shall be substantially twice the thickness of the Wall of the introvertable container 26 which is received therein, allowing, of course, for operational slidable clearances.

A hollow container 26 is provided for mounting within the barrel ll of the syringe. 'The container 26 may hold any material which may be discharged by extrusion, whether liquid, emulsion, paste or the like. The container 26 is preferably elongated and also preferably circular centrally in lateral transverse section, and its length and diameter, respectively, are less than corresponding internal dimensions of the confining 3 wall of the syringe barrel, so that the container may be completely received within the barrel. It may be made of any suitable pliable material which may be introverted or invaginated upon itself, such as, for example, thin pliable foils of tin, lead, aluminum and the like metals, pliable sheet material of rubber, cellulose, plastics, impregnated cloth or paper and the like. The closed end of container 28 and also of the container in each modification hereinafter described, is integral with the side wall and is preferably, formed with a concaved depression therein as at 21 so that the inward folding or introversion charged end of the tube may be manually opened and closed. However the known tubes do not have a concaved end at the permanently closed thereof is initially started prior to exertion of pressure thereon by the rounded end 24. of the.

piston. It is to be understood, however, that by providing the rounded end of the piston (see 2d and 240 of the drawing), a concavity 'will'be made in the closed end of the container upon initial, pressure of the piston thereon, even though the closed end of the container be pre formed flat or even if it be pre-formed somewhat convexedly. Upon pressure of the rounded end of the piston at this closed end wall of the container, the wall of the container collapses .or foldsvv inwardly upon itself and thereby extrudes the content of the container 26 from the discharge. end 28. In Fig.

1, the container is illustrated in dotted lines in its full or uncollapsed position,,and is shown in ,full line in its introverted or invaginated posi-v the piston should remain such that the Wall of the piston is relatively spaced from the inner wall of the syringe barrel a distance which is substantially twice the thickness of the material of the container.

The container 26 also may have many modifications particularly at its discharged end. In the container of Figs. 1 and 2 the discharged end has .a relatively short tubular extension 28 which issealed and, is adapted for. seating in. the recess M of the syringe barrel and is also adapted to have its sealed discharged end 28 punctured by the cannula Hi. In the container of Fig. 2 the entire container body may be integral and of a pliable elastic material such as sheet rubber or partially elastic material, such as a gelatinous composition, or a flexible and pliable plastic material. When the container is of elastic or partially elastic material the opening or puncture thereinmade by the cannula l8 will automatically close upon removal of the cannula.

As shown in Fig. 3, the container body 25a may be also made of different material than the discharge end, such as metal foil for the walls of the container 26a and an elastic puncturable cap 28a for mounting on the discharge end. This type of container would be employable in the same type of syringe structure as is shown in Fig. 1, in which case recess It would obviously be made of sufiicient diameter to receive the cap 281;.

In the modification illustrated in Fig. 4 the container 26b may be a pliable metalfoil tube, and. its inwardly flanged discharge end portion thickened to provide a tube end, closure, and to provide an integrally mounted threaded nipple- 3 1) which may be opened and closed by av remoyable threaded cap 3| which, when removedpermits the mounting of a cannula holder l fib and needle lilb of Fig. directly clothe nipplebfjthe tube without. nec ssity. of;.p n ure of; thcdis '"endof; the container, as described above and chargeend of syringe barrel I lc has an internally threaded recess 33 for receiving therein the threaded nipple 3d of the cannular holder I90.

is a flexible elasticintrovertible' body such as.

rubber or gelatinfl ls lastic. which has its discharge end elongated in; the form of a resilient elastic tubular nipple. 38 having a slitted puncture 33- at its discharged end. The opposite or closed end lfil oi themontainer, in its normal filled position is preferably concaved similar to the cone tainer 26 in Figs. 1- andg but is provided, with a filling opening and tubular neck Al centrally of said end. The neck may be closed by a cork M which, if desired, may be provided With a circumferential groove 4,3 which the flexible body portion of the neck may engage for tightly closing the opening of the, neck. ObviouslyQa thread or wire, not shown, ma y. be.- employed in the groove tozfurther bind the neck-to the cork, Inthis modification-a plunger member 220 of relatively larger diameter may be employed to provide space at its rounded end 2&0 for anecess l l for receiving the neck l -lv anclthe corkAZ.

In the modification of Fig. '7 the. syringe barrel Ild may be substantially. similar to that shown in Fig. 4 and provided. with an opening 3201 at its discharge end, the hollow elongated resilient elastic discharge nipple 38d being received through the opening. The body of the container 3611 is of flexible elastic material as in the container 26c; of; Fig 6, and the discharge end of the nipple is s i inil e rlyv provided with. a puncture or slit 39d. The piston 22d may also be similar to the piston 22 of Fig. 1.

The purpose of the. puncture or slit 39 and 39d respectivelyin thenipples of Figs. 6, and 7 'isto provide for opening the discharge end of. the. cone tainer solely. responsive to the-pressure of thepiston on the opposite .endof the container for ex trusion of the contents. thereof, and, the automatic closing of. the discharge end of the nipple due to its resilience upon. release of that pressure of the piston. Sincethere will be a slight, though appreciable, rebound [or suction of the extruded 'material When the extruding pressures ceases the material in the immediate region of the slit or perforation 39; 39d will be sucked slightly inwardly, thus permitting the slit or perforation to instantly close andsharply cut off, any drip whic might be anticipated. 1

In the modification of Fig. 8 there is disclosed a dified f o c nta ner o y designat d which in this instance is-particularly adapted to facilitate filling. The container body may be made of any suitable introvertibl material and is formed as a member separate from its closure member 45. The container body, when formed, has one end open whereby it may be readily filled, after which the closure member 45 is inserted in the open end. The closure member is of a readily perforable material such as rubber and has opposed recesses 45, 41, so that it may be punctured by a cannular needle when the container is placed in a syringe barrel and a cannula is attached to the discharge end of the syringe body. The closure member is provided with a collar flange 48 which may be raised while th end portion 49 of the open end of the container is flanged into the closure member, whereupon the collar flange 48 is pressed tightly upon the flange portion of the container end.

The characteristic of introversion of the container is generic to each of the containers illustrated and described in all forms of the invention, as well as th characteristic that the respective diameters of the interior of the syringe barrel and the exterior of the piston therein are relatively such that the piston wall is spaced from the inner barrel wall substantially twice the thickness of the material of the wall of the container, and it is highly preferable that the closed end of all the containers have an initial concavity.

It is to be understood that when the piston is being pressed upon the end of the container to introvert same the pressure upon the contents within the container is theoretically the same in all directions and at all points. Practically there may be some doubt as to whether the internal pressure is the same adjacent the discharge orifice as at the opposite end of the container when a semi-fluid emulsion or paste is being employed in the container. In practical operation, however, the internal pressure of the fluid in the container against the side walls of the container body is sufficient at all points to maintain the wall of the container in contact with the internal barrel wall of the syringe, so that the container wall is telescopically introverted upon itself as the piston is advanced. For support of the container wall when this pressure is exerted, the container should be of lesser length than the internal axial length of the barrel. And since the space between the piston and the cylinder barrel is substantially twice the thickness of the material of the container wall the introverted wall of the container is folded inwardly upon itself with the layers thereof in substantially superficial contact as shown in the drawing. Inasmuch as the piston, as it is advanced occupies the remainder of the lateral area transversely of the container, all of the contents of the container is completely and cleanly extruded. Such an arrangement of syringe barrel, piston and container, provides for inverting the container wall progressively within the body of the container parallel with the syringe axis, so that at all positions of introversion the introverted wall of the container closely parallelly overlies the externally surrounding container wall portion which is not introverted, and both of said container walls during introversion will be parallel with the barrel wall. This result is accomplished because the enclosing barrel of the syringe is cylindrical and the container therein is cylindrical, and upon pressure of the piston, spaced as aforesaid from the inner barrel wall, the container cannot expand outwardly. Therefore, considering the normal cylindrical container wall as its datum position,

the container wall is introverted through an arc of whereby, What may, for brevity be termed an acute angle of substantially zero degrees is formed where the two body layers of the container wall meet at the edge of the infold, since the outer container wall and the inner or introverted container wall are in overlying closely spaced parallelism, and preferably in ,slidable substantially superficial contact to completely exhaust the container. Such an introversion avoids a rebound of the infolded wall which would otherwise suck air into the opposite punctured discharge end of the container upon release of pressure of the piston. Introverting the wall of the container upon itself in this manner eliminates suck-back upon release of pressure of the piston, since the container walls will thus be relatively positioned beyond the angle of elastic rebound; and the double thickness of the container wall between the piston and barrel will serve as a packing gland to prevent the material in the container from by-passing the piston head and back between the introverted walls of the container. Such an introversion of a cylindrical container within a cylindrical barrel provides accuracy of extrusion from the container. For example, by depressing the piston a predetermined distance, a like volume of the contents of the container will be dispensed.

Having thus described the invention what is claimed as new and patentable is:

1. A syringe having a cylindrical barrel provided with a discharge end, a piston reciprocable in the barrel, in combination with a hollow container having a cylindrical body portion of less respective diameter and length than the corresponding internal dimensions of the syringe barrel, so as to be receivable completely within the confining wall of the barrel and having a discharge end positionable at the discharge end of the syringe barrel and having its opposite end closed, said container having a body side wall of flexible material introvertible upon itself responsive to pressure of the piston at the closed end thereof, the outer diameter of the piston and inner diameter of the barrel being relatively spaced substantially twice the thickness of the material comprising the side wall of the container, whereby at all positions of introversion of the container wall, the inner barrel wall, the outer container wall and the inner introverted container wall, will be maintained substantially parallel to the syringe axis and overlying relatively, and an angle of substantially zero degrees maintained between the overlying walls of the container at the connection thereof as th inner wall is progressively introvertedly telescoped by the piston into said parallel overlying relation with the outer container wall and inner wall of the barrel.

2. A syringe having a cylindrical barrel provided with a discharge end, a piston reciprocable in the barrel provided with a rounded plunger end, in combination with a hollow container having a cylindrical body portion of less respective diameter and length than the corresponding internal dimensions of the syringe barrel, so as to be receivable completely within the confining wall of the barrel and having a discharge end positionable at the discharge end of the syringe barrel and having its opposite end closed, said container having a body side wall of fiexible material introvertible upon itself responsive to pressure of the piston at the closed end thereof, the

outer diameter of the piston and inner diameter of :thebarrel being. relatively spaced substantially twioethe thickness of the material comprising the sidewall of the container, whereby at all positions of introversion. of the container wall, the inner barrel wall, the outer container wall and the inner introvertedcontainer wall, will be maintained substantially parallel to the syringe axis and overlying relatively, and an angle of subtantially zero degrees maintained between the overlying walls of the container at the connection thereof as the inner wall is progressively introvertedly telescoped by the piston into said parallel overlying relation with the outer containerwalland inner wallof the barrel.

3; A syringe having a cylindrical barrel provided-with adischarge end, a piston reciprocable in the barrel, in combination with a hollow container having a cylindrical body portion of less respective diameter and length than the corresponding internaldimensions of the syringe barreLso as to be receivable completely within the confining wall of the barrel and having a discharge end positionable at the discharge end of the syringe barrel and having its opposite end closed and concave, said container having a body side wallof flexible material introvertible upon itselfresponsive to pressure of the piston at the closed end thereof, the outer diameter of the piston and inner diameter of the barrel being relatively spaced substantially twice the thickness of the material comprising the side wall of the container, whereby at all positions of introversionof the container wall, the inner barrel wall, the outer container wall and the inner introverted container wall, will be maintained substantially parallel to the syring axis and overlying relatively, and an angle of substantially zero degrees maintained between the overlying walls of the container at the connection thereof as the inner wall is progressively introvertedly telescoped by the piston into said parallel overlying relation with the outer container wall and inner wall of the barrel.

4. A syringe having a cylindrical barrel provided with a discharge end, a piston reciprocable in the barrel provided with a rounded plunger end, in combination with a hollow container having a cylindrical bodyportion of less respective diameter and length than the corresponding internal dimensions of the syringe barrel, so as to be receivable completely within the confining wall of the barrel and having a discharge end positionable at the discharge end of the syringe barrel and having its opposite end closed and concave, said container having a body side wall of flexible material introvertible upon itself responsive to pressure of'the piston at the closed endthereof, the outer diameter of the piston and inner diameter of the barrel being relatively spaced substantially twice the thickness of the material comprising the side wall of the container, whereby at all positions of introversion of the container wall, the inner barrel wall, the outercontainer wall and the inner introverted container wall, will be maintained substantially parallel to the syringe axis and overlying relatively, and: an angle of substantially zero degrees maintained between the overlying walls of the container at the connection thereof as the inner barrel, provided with a rounded plunger end,"

in combination with a hollow container havin a cylindrical body portion of less respective diameter and length than the corresponding internal dimensions of the syringe barrel, so as to .be receivable completely within the confining wall of the barrel and having a discharge end positionable at the discharge end of the syringe barrel and having its opposite end closed, said container having a body side wall of flexible material introvertible upon itself responsive to pressure of the piston at the closed end thereof, the discharge end of the container having an elongated hollow nipple puncturable at the tip thereof, the outer diameter of the piston and the inner diameter of the barrel being relatively spaced substantially twice the thickness of? the material comprising the side wall of the container, whereby at all positions of introversion of the container wall, the inner barrel wall, the outer container wall and the inner introverted container wall, will be maintainedsubstantially parallel to the syringe axis and overlying relatively, and an angle of substantially zero degrees maintained between the overlying walls of the container at the connection thereof as the inner wall is progressively introvertedly telescoped by the piston into said parallel overlying relation with the outer container wall and inner wall of the barrel.

6. A syringe having a cylindrical barrel with a discharge end, a piston reciprocable in the barrel provided with a rounded plunger end, in com-v bination with a hollow container havinga cylindrical body portion of less respective diameter and length than the corresponding internal dimensions ofvthe syringe barrel, so as tobe receivable completely within the confining wall Of the barrel and having a discharge end positionable at the discharge end of the syringe barrel and having its opposite end closed and concave, said container having a body side wall of flexible material: introvertible upon itself responsive to pressure of the piston at the closed end thereof, the discharge end of the container having an elongated hollow nipple puncturable at the discharge tip thereof, the outer diameter of the piston and inner diameter of the barrel being relatively spaced substantially twice the thickness of the material comprising the side wall of the container, whereby at all positions of introversion of the container wall, the inner barrel wall, the outer container wall and the inner introverted container wall, will be maintained substantially parallel to the syringe axis and overlying relatively, and an angle of substantially zero degrees maintained between th overlying walls of the container at the connection thereof as the inner wall is progressively introvertedly telescoped by the piston into said parallel overlying relation with the outer container wall and inner wall of the barrel.

7. A syringe of the character described comprising the combination of a cylindrical syringe barrel provided with a discharge end, a piston reciprocable in the barrel provided with a rounded plunger end having a central recess, a hollow container having a cylindrical body portion of less respective diameter and length than the corresponding internal dimensions of the syringe barrel, so as to be receivable completely withinthe confining wall of the barrel and having a discharge end positionable at the discharge end of the syringe barrel and having its opposite end provided with a closable filling neck adapted for- 8. A container device for syringes comprising a e cylindrical hollow elongated shell body for positioning in a syringe barrel, said container having a discharge end positionable at the discharge end of the syringe barrel, and having its opposite end provided with an extended closable filling neck of lesser diameter than the shell body, said conu tainer having a body side wall of flexible mate- 10 rial introvertible upon itself, the discharge end of the container having a closure.

GEORGE N. HEIN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 798,093 Dean Aug. 29, 1905 2,159,217 Lozier et al May 23, 1939 2,372,469 Beasley et al Mar. 27, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 14,997 Great Britain Oct. 23, 1915 

